This post is sponsored by Ibotta. All opinions are honest and 100% my own.
Dress: J.Crew Tiered Maxi Dress (00P/TTS) – (similar)
Shoes: J.Crew Platform Espadrille Sandals (5.5/TTS)
Earrings: Amazon Tassel Dangles (love these!)
Now that my kids are getting a little older at 4 and 7 years old, it’s been easier to do a little more traveling! I’ve had a few amazing trips already this year –I did Hawaii in April, Bahamas in May, and most recently, Anaheim, California in June. Traveling is incredible for the experiences and memories. But I’ll be the first to say that there are almost always unexpected expenses that come up. Making things a bit stressful on the wallet. In turn, I’ve gotten smart about how to save money on travel and I’m sharing my top 5 tips below!
How to Save Money on Travel Expenses
Note: All offers were valid as of publish date. Don’t forget to check your app for details as offers change frequently and may not be available in all areas!
Introducing Ibotta
Have you heard of the smartphone app Ibotta? Ibotta is a cash back app for your smartphone that makes it super easy to earn cash back on your everyday purchases. The app is completely free to download and use on iOS and Android — plus there are never any subscription fees or prompts for in-app purchases!
I actually started using Ibotta when I first heard about it nearly 3 years ago, primarily to get cash back at stores I was shopping at; such as Walmart, Target, and CVS (more on that later). But now that I want to go on more trips, I’ve been taking advantage of all the travel deals within the app!
Tip #1: Fly for a Deal
Flying is almost always the most expensive aspect of the trip. Especially since it’s four seats that we need to purchase for me, my husband, and two kids. Now when I make my reservation, I start with Ibotta and get cash back through their partners such as Orbitz, Expedia, Hotwire, Priceline, and Travelocity just to name a few (e.g. it’s 5% cash back at Priceline, which is huge considering the price of typical airline tickets!). The price I pay isn’t any different when going through the app, and I earn cash back on every purchase regardless of my flight destination! Talk about a great way to save on travel expenses!
Tip #2: Save on Lodging
Next up comes figuring out where I’ll be staying when I’m on a getaway. I love trying out boutique hotels or booking a vacation home for a more unique experience. Regardless of whichever route I end up deciding on, Ibotta makes it so easy to save as I can click through offers at Hotels.com, Booking.com, and HomeAway. With deals such as 6% cash back, it’s surprisingly easy to get a quick $100 back on hotel reservations!
Tip #3: Pack Up & Save
I recently upgraded my luggage as my old set was starting to fall apart. So I love that I can get a deal at eBags through Ibotta! Whether it’s a suitcase, packing cubes, or even toiletry kits, I can earn easy cash back on all the travel essentials!
Tip #4: Eat, Drink, and Get Cash Back
Ibotta also has numerous options if you’re looking to save while dining out! Popular cash back options include Olive Garden, Applebee’s, and Steak ‘n Shake (yum!) by using the Pay with Ibotta feature, but if you’re not in the mood to go out, you can also save on food delivery through services like GrubHub, DoorDash, and Postmates. And if you’re like me and need a little morning pick-me-up, Ibotta lets you earn a hefty 10% cash back at Peet’s Coffee too!
Another money-saving travel tip is to make a stop at the grocery store on your first day. I like to have a few snacks and bottled water on hand wherever I’m traveling and Ibotta makes saving money incredibly easy by simply uploading your receipt to the app. Oftentimes there’s even a cash back offer just for uploading a receipt to the app, with additional offers if certain items that have promotions are also purchased.
we stopped at the grocery store first thing on our Anaheim, CA trip and stocked up on snacks!
Tip #5: Enjoy the Local Scene on a Dime
I’m always up for new experiences when I’m traveling; and Ibotta offers several different ways that I can check out a city while earning cash back. Groupon is one of my favorites as I can search in the “Things To Do” category and get deals on popular local attractions in addition to earning cash back through Ibotta — it’s like stacking coupons! Similarly, if there’s a show that I’m interested in, Ibotta has partnerships with Ticketmaster and SeatGeek where I can go and find tickets. I love that Ibotta lets me be spontaneous and still save money even if I don’t have my entire itinerary planned in advance!
And of course, what’s a vacation without a little shopping? For those days when the guys are off playing golf or wanna do their own thing for an afternoon, I use it as an opportunity for the girls to do a little shopping! In particular, I love hitting up the mall when I’m on vacation, and Ibotta allows me to earn cash back even on my in-store purchases in places such as Old Navy, American Eagle, and Athleta by using Pay with Ibotta!
Let me know in a comment below how you save on travel expenses! And be sure to use Ibotta to save on your next getaway and save extra on just about everything from tickets, lodging, and dining/eating/shopping adventures!
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The app sounds amazing! Thank you lovely
x Lisa | lisaautumn.com
I totally needed these tips! I’ve had Ibotta downloaded for a while now but have yet to use it! Now I definitely need to!!
Wow, Ibotta seems to have a cashback deal with everything. I might have to use it when it comes to food delivery services!
This sounds like a great way to save! Thanks for sharing!
XOXO
Cathy
These are great tips! My husband and I don’t travel unless it is a great deal!
http://www.rdsobsessions.com
That sounds like such a cool app! We have a ton of trips coming up so I’ll definitely check this out!
Lizzie
http://www.lizzieinlace.com
Love these tips! I’ve never heard of Ibotta but need to check it out. I typically watch Scott’s Cheap Flights and Jet Blue Cheeps and do more spur-of-the-moment trips to save a few bucks!
Rachel
http://www.hello-her.com
oh yes, The Flight Deal is another good one if you’re flexible on destinations and last-minute deals! thanks for the helpful tip!
xx,
kileen
Wow, these are all such great ideas that I definitely need to look into! Thank you for sharing!
Wow it sounds like an amazing app and on the side note, your dress is stunning!
I have heard so many amazing things about this app!! I need to check it out!
I’ve never used Ibotta before! Love saving money – more money for family fun or clothes!
Useful tips!! I usually book my flights through Expedia, so I might as well get advantage of Ibotta. Thanks for sharing these tips!
Candace Hampton
This app sounds like an amazing way to save money. Who doesn’t want cash back! I don’t have any travel plans coming up, but I’m always wanting to do something!
I’ve never thought of using Ibotta for travel before! Such a good tip.
Love that you’re rockin’ this maxi dress! You look awesome! It’s giving me some encouragement, b/c as a shortie, I have to have almost everything I buy altered. I love this!
thanks Patricia! It’s technically a midi dress but becomes a perfect-length maxi dress on us shorties, lol!
xo,
kileen
Sounds like I need this app in my life!! It sounds like it can do it all, and however I can save a few hundred dollars while traveling is so worth it
I am all about experiences over things. This app sounds great for savings on necessities.
These are all such great tips! I love saving money while traveling so that I can go on other trips!
Wow this is amazing! I had never heard of Ibotta before. Need to start using it stat! Thank you for the introduction!
xo Laura Leigh
http://www.louellareese.com
Great tips for using Ibotta! Loving the dress also 🙂
Getting cashback on food and drink is one of the best ways to save on a trip and sounds like Ibotta makes it super easy and convenient!
-Morgan
How 2 Wear It [] http://how2wearit.com
Obsessed with that dress! I’ve never used Ibotta but definitely looking into it! Thanks for sharing!
You are so good at finding good deals on everything! I should check out Ibotta – I have some travel I want to do in the coming months!
I’m a huge fan of cashback apps! I love and use Ibotta almost every day. So simple!
I’ve used Ibotta for grocery shopping for years, but had no idea that they had travel deals too! Definitely checking it out now!
I used to really love ibotta in high school, but the app has definitely progressed a lot since then, because they didn’t have travel deals at the time. I had no clue there were options for hotels, luggage, rentals, and more! Thanks for letting me know. This will help a TON when I start traveling more often.
great tips! Id never heard of ibotta, ill have to check it out
Thanks so much for this! I had heard about this app before but not in such detail! I love traveling too and I’m at the phase where my kids are out of the toddler stages and we can travel again! Totally downloading this app!
These are such great tips! I need to try out Ibotta!
xoxo,
Kim
I removed Ibotta from my phone when I ran out of space. I completely forgot about it and just realized I haven’t been saving money the past couple months.
Oh I love ibotta! Now if only I could get my husbands job to let us Travel like that 😂
Need to download that app. I love saving money lol
Also this maxi dress is adorable.
Oh I need to download this app! That dress looks so fabulous on you!
I never knew Ibotta could be used for so much travel! We usually use a travel credit card to save for future trips.
LOVE LOVE LOVE that dress! Such a great post! I’ll definitely bookmark for my next vacation! Thanks gf!
I used to use IBotta when it first came out and it looks like they have really amped it up. Gotta give it another try.
These are so smart! Saving money on travel is such a huge win!
This is beautiful! 🙂
I love that there are so many different ways to save money these days – and Ibotta is awesome!
I love your dress babe! I always look for cashback options when traveling! I need to adopt some of these other tips 🙂
-xo, Azanique | https://www.lotsofsass.com
Such great tips–I wish I would have read this earlier since we leave for Hawaii in a few days and man is it pricey!
Oh I am going to have to try out this app! It sounds amazing and that dress is perfect for travel!
http://www.ruthyannie.com
Great Tips! I’ve always heard about ibotta but was very hesitant on using it. Also, I love your new suitcase and how organized it is. I am due for a new one as well so thanks for the recommendation.
I love your dress! I have the Ibotta app, but haven’t used it for travel. This is so helpful and now I will!
Love these tips and those wedge sandals!
Oh! I have used this app before, but I don’t think I knew that you can use it for travel as well! Definitely going to check that feature out!
Denise | Fashion Love Letters
I definitely need this app to save money and it would definitely help a lot in the long run! Thanks for sharing this cool post! ❤️
Every little bit of saving counts and this sound like a great app for that. Ps. Love the colors in that dress!
This is so helpful! I need to look into Ibotta for my upcoming travel. It can be so hard to put down a lot of cash on travel expenses.
I use hopper to find the best deals on fights and it’s SO nice! It tells me when flights are the cheapest so that I can save there too!! Great tips!
I love eating local. I’ll have to check out Ibotta.
The tips are really great that every traveler can follow through.
My family and I love to travel. We usually rent a car for our travels, so my useful info for those who also love to travel and want to save money on renting a car. Book a car in advance and look at options from several companies so that you can find a great car for your trip at a good price. For example, we flew to Spain a few months ago and rented a car a month before the trip, so we didn’t have to worry about transportation